These Mountains Have Words

            The Retreat Center almost complete view from the back and our backyard view

So we’ve been in Hungary now for over a little week and I feel like I’ve not been good enough about telling you in regards to the culture or ministry that we’re doing here.  Our contacts this month are Brett and Sina, originally from the Chicago area of the US, they felt a really strong call to the Hungarian people here and have stayed committed to that; whether how easy or hard that process was.  They have been great people so far as we live here at the Christian Prayer Retreat place they have begun and have desired to invest in us on this long journey near the end and as we want to minister and love them. 

   Showing those muscles and Tash, our best axe cutter thus far, she’s got a swing!

We’re doing many types of ministry this month which has so far included building some things things outside, sanding, doing a lot of yard work to get this place running for them and future groups that come, and taught English to Hungarian Children.  We’ve also gone to the streets kids and homeless ministry, the prayer hikes and soon do some tea house ministry having conversations with students in the historic and beautiful city of Pecs where many university students are and “New Age” has now become a huge influence.

                             New Age Tea House & Leaving Budapest view from bus

Besides my last two blogs of the hike and homeless/street kids ministry of last week, on Thursday and Friday we were able to help in many areas of construction and yard work that is hard for just two people to do alone, and as a team of seven comes right before the winter time, I’m sure it was a big help for them.  We built a firewood stand, cleaned out an old shed of wood, sawed down to burning size TONS of wood, sanded the porches and tables, dug out dead trees from the ground and worked on the gardens and yard.  Our team has been wanting some manual labor ministry along with evangelism and other people, because we love to see hands on ministry work that will help make this prayer retreat a more beautiful place.

                       Charity & Andrea sanding & Jed destroying ground, his best gift

Hungarians aren’t known to be loud at all and love it when you try to actually know their language and try to speak it.  There are many Jews in the area, actually Budapest has the second largest Jewish temple next to Jerusalem.  Today’s young generation is in mysticism and open free faith so you can go to a coffee/tea place and see Buddhist things.  There are many religious interventions.  Turks used to be here and dominate the religious landscape.  Turkey is a dominant Islamic country, a lot of mosque are there as we just had connecting flights.  After Communism fell here most religious communities, especially older and reformed just kept to the old lifestyle of worship like it was before the second World War so they haven’t really moved forward at all.  In the famous city of Pecs, the European Cultural Capital of 2010, the is a former church then became of mosque after Turks, then now the Christians camp back to take it and the famous city center mosque has a crescent moon and cross and a place of worship for both.

Pecs still has all the old buildings and history because in the wars it was hardly hit at all.  It was said that all the religious leaders came together and prayed for protection and it was the only city pretty much not destroyed.  There are many famous things there as Schechenyi Square, the huge basilica, the mosque, statues everywhere, the old and new architecture, ruins of an Turkish spa, castle towers and walls, the streets full or musicians, people, and cafe’s outdoor that you usually think of Europe, doves, lovers on the benches where PDA is not uncommon here, the colorful buildings of European cities make it all surreal.  And then there’s the catacombs where martyrs as early as AD 200 were buried for their faith and old tombs of people that you can see.  Europe has a history like no other and especially this region.  Under the huge basilica cathedral are graves and old cities from thousands of years ago.  (A new blog to come).

Right now the reformed church here is pretty much dead and the younger generation is looking for something alive.  They are looking for a blended worship, good theology and spiritual life, with emphasis on evangelism, the future and life of the church can be found in the past of its Philosophy, arts, way of life, to be redeemed in the church and the gospel of Christ; or at least that’s what the Orthodox church here is hoping too try to get around.  As a church we should blend the old and new together, because separately they lack something but all together they bring unity and balance.  To respect the church of the last two thousand years and where God is leading it into the future. 

Here they really emphasize All Saints Day where all month until November 1st, people will go to the grave sites to respect loved ones of the past.  They even celebrate Christmas much different than us back home.  On December 5th or 6th they believe Santa Claus comes and on the 25th is the Jesus celebration.  Our team has been blessed to be in the Hungarian mountains living in the small village of Pecsvarad but in close access to the beautiful city of Pecs; both worlds of the Hungarian and European culture.  This month was an “Ask the Lord” (ATL) month for us and it’s been great ministry and a wonderful time for spiritual growth.

Side Note:  I may not have mentioned that we had a team day in Romania to take a four hour bus ride from Targu Mures to Brasov and Bran.  Why? Because the famous “Dracula’s Castle” was in Bran where Vlad Impaler the cruel ruler and where the book “Dracula” was known.  It’s creepy looking but beautiful area of the mountains. 

We got to go to Brasov and beautiful European town and the mountains were gorgeous.  One of the best parts of the day was when we go to go on top of a mountains that is a ruined fortified city where there’s the old walls, ruins of rooms, towers, and old cannons at the top you see the view of all the mountains and Brasov down below.  My favorite was seeing the majestic snow topped Carpathian mountains in the distance with the forest mountains in front beginning their fall colors.  God’s creation is majestic!

                  Ruined fortified city on the mountain and a view of Carpathian Mountains